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EPUMC WEEKLY MEMO
You Are WELCOME At EDEN PRAIRIE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Empowered by God's love, we are a community of Christ's disciples, centered in worship and fellowship with:
OPEN HEARTS to live and serve with compassion and to share God's love
OPEN MINDS to seek spiritual formation and encourage each person's faith journey
OPEN DOORS to invite and welcome all to join in discipleship
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Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – March 7, 2010
May
you be blessed with God’s grace and peace in these days of Lent.
We are observing Lent in acts of
worship and fellowship each Wednesday evening and you are invited. The
weekly schedule includes: ·
Soup
Supper at 5:45 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, with an
“offering” for Feed My Starving Children, designated for the
purchase of rice and other foods needed for packaging. This past
Wednesday evening you gave $112, giving us a total so far of $408.10.
Thank you for your generosity. ·
Following
the Soup Supper we then move into the sanctuary at 6:45 p.m. for a
one-half hour worship time, drawing on the resources of the
Celtic Christian tradition. This time of prayer, song and silence is a
time of peace and renewal. This Sunday in worship we read the Gospel of Luke 13:1-9, which is a story about people questioning Jesus regarding God’s role in natural and human disasters in which people lose their lives. The title of my message is “Rethink Disaster”. The Chancel Choir will provide musical leadership. Communion
will be served at both worship services. As we learn of yet another earthquake and feel concern for our neighbors in South America, this prayer from our Book of Worship, titled: “In Time of Natural Disaster” by Andy Langford helps us share in their struggle. O God, you divided the waters of chaos at creation. In Christ you stilled storms, raised the dead and vanquished demonic powers. Tame the earthquake, wind, and fire, and all forces that defy control or shock us by their fury. Keep us from calling disaster your justice. Help us, in good times and in distress, to trust your mercy and yield to your power, this day and forever. Amen. Join with your sisters and brothers in Christ on the road of discipleship with Jesus as we gather for worship this Sunday. There is a place for you in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – March 14, 2010 Greetings
to you and your household. Although the calendar says “winter”, the
March rain of the past week turns our thoughts to spring. The rain also
serves as a reminder to ‘SPRING AHEAD” with your clocks this
Saturday evening before going to bed as we mark the return to “Daylight
Saving Time”. This Sunday our focus for worship is on forgiveness and the restoring of relationships. The scripture reading is the familiar story commonly known as “The Prodigal Son”. However, the more significant emphasis ought to be on “The Forgiving Father”. We will read the story from the Gospel of Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32. Two short selections from the “Living the Questions” series will be shown as part of our scripture reflection. These selections on “restoring relationships” were significant statements for those who participated in the series this past winter. The title of my message this Sunday is: “Rethink Forgiveness”. Each
year in March, United Methodists receive a special offering for the United
Methodist Committee on Relief – the “One
Great Hour of Sharing” offering. Our gifts will help with
the organizational costs of UMCOR
so that 100% of all disaster contributions go directly to the need. This
Sunday, at the 9 a.m. worship service, we will commission the work team
from our church going to Mississippi next week. They will be working in
cooperation with UMCOR on our
behalf. We
are observing Lent in acts of
worship and fellowship each Wednesday evening and you are invited. The
weekly schedule includes: ·
Soup
Supper at 5:45 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, with an
“offering” for Feed My Starving Children, designated for the
purchase of rice and other foods needed for packaging. This past
Wednesday evening you gave $79.25, giving us a total so far of $487.35
Thank you for your continuing generosity to this important ministry. ·
Following
the Soup Supper we then move into the sanctuary at 6:45 p.m. for a
one-half hour worship time, drawing on the resources of
the Celtic Christian tradition. This time of prayer, song and silence is
a time of peace and renewal. I
have included the following prayer in worship from time to time. It is a
prayer of thanks for all “prodigals” as we find our way back home to
the heart of God. O God, we rejoice in your grace, given and received. We thank you that you claim us and are working in our lives to strengthen, encourage, and guide us.
We praise you for opportunities to serve in your realm, and for your Spirit, empowering us to live a life worthy of our calling.
Root and establish us in love, that, with all God’s people, we may have power to comprehend the deep meaning of our life in Christ.
Strengthen us in faith that we may know the love of Christ, even though it is beyond knowledge, and so be filled with all the fullness of God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (from: Holy Baptism and Services for the Renewal of Baptism”, Westminster Press) I look forward to seeing you in the sanctuary as we gather in the embrace of God’s restoring, forgiving love, this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. (Remember to “Spring Ahead”) Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – March 21, 2010 Grace
and peace to you and your household. How wonderful to be gifted with a
few days of spring-like weather as we move toward the end of Lent.
This Sunday our focus for worship is on generosity. The scripture reading paints a picture of generosity as Mary, a friend of Jesus, anoints him with a costly perfume called nard. The value of the perfume was equivalent to a year of wages in Jesus’ time. This Sunday, Linda Evans has planned the worship service, which includes a short drama, titled “The Cab Ride”. The title of Linda’s message this Sunday is: “Rethink Generosity”. The scripture readings for this Sunday are Philippians 3:4b-14 and John 12:1-8. Musical
leadership for worship will be provided by the
“Praise Band”. In addition to their musical offering, we
will be blessed by the music of the children and youth. The Prairie
Kids will sing at the 9 a.m. worship service, and the Youth
Choir will sing at both worship services. Thanks
to all who gave a gift to support the One Great Hour of Sharing
offering. Our gifts from last Sunday totaled: $1065. Thank you for
supporting the ministry of disaster relief through the United Methodist
Committee on Relief. This
coming Wednesday will be the last weekly soup supper and Celtic
worship service before Holy Week. The schedule includes: ·
Soup
Supper at 5:45 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, with an
“offering” for Feed My Starving Children designated for the purchase
of rice and other foods needed for packaging. This past Wednesday
evening you gave $124, giving us a total so far of $611.35. Thank you
for your continuing generosity to this important ministry. ·
Following
the Soup Supper we then move into the sanctuary at 6:45 p.m.
for a one-half hour worship time, drawing on the resources of the Celtic
Christian tradition. This time of prayer, song and silence is a time of
peace and renewal. As
we “rethink generosity”, I offer you the following prayer from our
United Methodist Book of Worship:
Almighty and most merciful God, from you comes every good and perfect gift. We give you praise and thanks for all your mercies. Your goodness has created us, your bounty has sustained us, your discipline has chastened us, your patience has borne with us, your love has redeemed us. Give us a heart to love and serve you, and enable us to show our thankfulness for all your goodness and mercy by giving up ourselves to your service, and cheerfully submitting in all things to your blessed will; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Our Mission Work Team leaves this Saturday and will be in Van Cleve, Mississippi next week. Hold them in your prayers as they serve Christ through this ministry of compassion and love. I look forward to seeing you in the sanctuary as we gather in the embrace of God’s generous love this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – March 28, 2010
The
warm weather has put me in a springtime spirit! Just when I was thinking
spring, I was abruptly reminded of Christmas! I noticed that today
(March 25th) is the “Feast of the Annunciation” (not a
day commonly celebrated in the United Methodist church). However, if you
“do the math” you will see that it is nine months until December 25th
– Jesus’ birthday. For now, let’s focus on Holy Week and Easter! The Holy Week journey begins this Sunday with Palm/Passion Sunday. Our scripture readings will shape the worship service as we begin with the story of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem as told in Luke 19:28-40. Then, on to the upper room as we receive communion and remember the story of the Last Supper from Luke 22:14-27. We then focus on a time of prayer and remember Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane as we read Luke 22:39-46. Our fourth reading this Sunday, comes from Paul’s letter to the Philippians 2:5-11. My message “Rethink Power” is based on this scripture and the overall story of Holy Week. The
Chancel Choir will provide musical
leadership as we retell the story of Jesus’ journey to the cross. The
rest of the Holy Week story will be recalled as we gather on Maundy
Thursday evening, April 1, at 6:00 p.m. and on Good
Friday, April 2, at 7:00 p.m. Details and sign-up
information are in the weekly Sunday bulletin or the April Tumbleweed
newsletter, coming out in a few days. Thanks
to all who have given a gift to support the Feed My Starving Children
offering at the Lenten Soup Suppers. This past Wednesday, $122 was given
making our total gift to FMSC, $609.35 As
we “rethink power”, I offer you the following prayer from South
Africa:
Do not forget the joy of the Lord is your strength: But remember this….. We are called not to be fearful, we are called to love. We are called not to parade our holiness, we are called to be faithful. We are not called to be all-knowing, we are called to believe. We are not called to claim, we are called to give. We are not called to be victorious, we are called to be obedient. We are called to serve and to walk humbly with our God. Amen. . This Sunday we recall Jesus’ journey to the cross through humility and faithful obedience to his Creator. May we find courage in the promise of God’s presence and great love as we travel this road with Jesus. I look forward to seeing you in the sanctuary this Sunday at 9 or 10:30 a.m. as we gather for Sunday worship. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller
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